This invention relates generally to a snow guard for mounting on a raised seam roof and, more particularly, to a mounting bracket that engages the raised seam portion of a roof structure to support a snow guard thereon.
Raised seam roofs are formed with panels manufactured from sheet metal or other suitable building materials with a flat panel that runs from the peak of the roof to the lower edge thereof. These panels are joined together by a formed edges that projects upwardly above the flat surface of the panel. The formed edges of adjacent panels are interlocked to fix the panels together in a sealed seam that is raised above the otherwise planar surface of the panels. Clips can be connected to the raised seams to tie into the frame structure of the building immediately beneath the seams, thereby fixing the roofing material which the panels form to the building. The sealed seams and the lower planar surfaces of the panels provide a watertight barrier against moisture provided that the panels, including the raised seams, are not punctured. Attaching devices to a raised seam roof without puncturing the panels or the sealed raised seams is a problem that has been appreciated for many years.
Raised seam roofs with the planar surfaces running from the roof peak to the roof edge do not retain snow on the roof surface as any accumulated snow tends to slide downwardly along the planar surfaces, particularly after the snow has partially melted to form a moisture layer between the roof panels and the accumulated snow. One of the most frequently needed devices to be attached to raised seam roofs is a snow guard which is operable to restrict the movement of accumulated snow off the roof panels. Other devices are often needed to be mounted on the roof, such as lightening rods, antennas, or support structures for both people and other apparatus such as air conditioners, etc. A device that can engage the raised seam roof to permit such devices to be mounted thereon without causing the roof or the raised seam thereof to be perforated has been contemplated for many years.
One of the early mechanisms for mounting devices on raised seam roofs can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,330,309, issued to R. T. Dixon on Feb. 10, 1920. The Dixon mechanism includes an elongated channel member having a cavity formed therein to receive the raised seam portion of the roof panel structure. A mounting bolt is received within a transverse threaded bore to engage the raised seam portion within the cavity of the channel member to deform the raised seam into a formed pocket, thereby affixing the channel member to the raised seam portion of the roof. A board rest member is formed as part of the channel member to permit the detachable mounting of devices, such as a snow guard, to the channel member.
A number of patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,248; U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,772; U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,931; U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,588; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,033 were issued to Robert M. M. Haddock for a mounting member that, like the Dixon patent, is affixed to the raised seam portion of a roof structure without puncturing the surface of the roof panels by a fastener that engages and deforms the raised seam portion. The Haddock mounting members typically require two fasteners for stability and are formed with cavities extending through the body of the mounting member to attach devices, such as a snow fence or decorative attachments, to the mounting member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,340; U.S. Pat. No. D364,338; U.S. Pat. No. D372,421; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,185 were issued to Roger M. Cline, et al. for various configurations of snow guards which are formed to be mounted on the raised seam portion of a roof structure. Like the Dixon and Haddock patents, the mounting of the snow guard involves the utilization of a fastener that is threaded into a body portion of the snow guard to engage and deform the raised seam portion of the roof structure to affix the snow guard to the roof. The snow guard structure includes a transversely extending body manufactured in a formed shape to present an esthetically pleasing device to be exposed on the surface of the roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 884,850, issued on Apr. 14, 1908, to F. A. Peter, is directed to a snow guard having a body member that straddles a raised seam portion of a roof to mount the snow guard without piercing the surface of the roof or the seam structure. The body member is formed in two opposing halves and is clamped onto the raised seam by a bolt that passes above the seam to interengage the opposing sides of the body member and effect a clamping action on the seam structure. While the Peter mechanism does not cause a deformation of the raised seam structure of the roof, the clamping action is indirect and does not provide a substantial affixation of the snow guard to the roof structure.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mounting bracket and associated snow guard therefor that would effectively mount on a raised seam roof structure without causing a deformation of the raised seam portion of the roof.
Furthermore, the raised seam portion of such roofs are formed with different shapes and sizes, which is not contemplated by most of the aforementioned prior art snow guard mounting members. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus for mounting devices to a raised seam roof that would be at least somewhat universal in application to accommodate different sizes and shapes of the raised seam portions.